Team Pumpkin is handing the next phase of its growth story to one of its own. The independent agency has elevated co-founder Swati Nathani to Chief Executive Officer, tasking her with making the shop feel less like a collection of marketing services and more like one connected growth partner for brands.
Nathani has been part of Team Pumpkin since she helped start the agency in 2012. Her new role puts her at the centre of business strategy, with a mandate to pull creative, performance, technology, communications and commerce into a tighter operating model.
A leadership move built on integration
The appointment is not framed as a gentle title change. Team Pumpkin says the next phase will focus on expanding integrated capabilities, deepening technology-led and AI-led offerings, strengthening its leadership team and scaling its international presence. The agency wants to sell outcomes, not channels.
Nathani put the challenge in plain terms: clients increasingly want “fewer silos between an idea and its business outcome.” That is a useful way for marketers to think about how agencies are repositioning themselves right now.
The numbers behind the agency
Team Pumpkin enters this next phase with a sizeable base:
- 350+ professionals across seven offices
- Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Goa, Toronto and Dallas
- 40% headcount growth over the past three years
- 70% of revenue from retainers
- 46% women representation across workforce and leadership
The retainer figure is worth noting. A revenue mix that leans heavily on retainers suggests existing clients are buying ongoing relationships, which changes how an agency can invest in talent and technology.
Why this matters for marketers
Team Pumpkin’s elevation is a local example of a wider agency ecosystem shift. AI is changing execution speed, platforms are rewiring discovery, and brands are demanding stronger proof that marketing spend produces business results. In that environment, agency appointments increasingly hinge on whether a shop can connect an idea to a commercial outcome without handing work across too many teams.
For brand-side marketers, the practical takeaway is to audit agency relationships for integration gaps. Ask whether one team owns strategy, creative, performance and measurement, and where AI genuinely improves the work rather than adding another tool. Watch digital-first Indian independents scaling in North America too, because they are beginning to compete as connected partners rather than low-cost service providers.
Swati Nathani’s elevation signals that Team Pumpkin intends to compete on that integrated promise, not just on a menu of services. Whether it works will show up in client retention, new business, and the agency’s ability to turn a seven-office footprint into one connected delivery model.
Source: MediaNews4U
